Chapter 158 — Struggle
劍問蒼天 · Page 1 of 6
At daybreak, when the sky had barely lightened, dark clouds massed thick over the lands around Canglan Mountain, and before long rain began to fall. The rain grew from a drizzle to a downpour, and soon the whole world between heaven and earth turned a hazy gray; the soft, pervasive sound of rain wrapped the towering peaks in a shroud of mist and spray, making them seem dim and mysterious.
The sound of rain striking green bamboo leaves seemed never to have changed in thousands upon thousands of years, and on Canglan Mountain it forever sounded lonely. Along the eaves and tiles that stretched outward, mossy with age, the drip-drip of water became a curtain, strand after strand falling like pearls onto the flagstone ground and splashing into droplets like shattered pearl dust.
There was wind in the rain, gusting again and again through the rain blossoms, bearing a faint dampness and rain spray; it lingered about the windowsill, as if it too were attached to something.
Lu Xueling stood alone by the window, watching the misty rain and mountain colors beyond, unbroken and endless; in such cold, clear hours, it seemed only the distant sound of rain on bamboo echoed through the landscape of earth and sky.
Where the breeze passed, the black hair at her temples drifted gently, and the rain spray brushing her face felt like a chill seeping into her skin. She pursed her lips lightly, her hand resting on the windowsill; the sound of the rain came to her ears, seeming now far, now near, until at last it seemed all to fall into the depths of her heart.
Only, she did not know whether ripples still remained.
Footsteps sounded outside the house, and someone knocked softly. Lu Xueling turned her head silently, quietly returning from the misty rain, and went to open the door. Outside stood her senior martial sister, Wen Pei.
Lu Xueling smiled faintly and said, "Senior Sister."
Wen Pei looked at her slightly haggard face, frowned, and walked in. Lu Xueling closed the door behind her, and the two sat down in the plain little room. Wen Pei first glanced at the bed, but saw the quilts folded neat and untouched; she sighed and said, "You didn't sleep last night?"
Lu Xueling said quietly, "I couldn't sleep."
Wen Pei looked at Lu Xueling, and a faint ache pierced her heart. She had entered the Xiaozhu Peak sect earlier than Lu Xueling, and the two had always been close; given Lu Xueling's proud and aloof nature, apart from their master Shuiyue, only Wen Pei had ever been her closest friend, the one person she could exchange a few words with. Lately troubles had dogged Lu Xueling without pause; Wen Pei watched from the sidelines, anxious, yet though she burned with worry, she was helpless, and could only watch as Lu Xueling grew more and more estranged from their master and the elders of the Canglan Sect.
For a moment the room fell silent, and Wen Pei did not know what to say. But after a while Lu Xueling spoke softly: "Senior Sister, this time, because of my affairs, I have truly wronged you."
Wen Pei started. "What?"
Lu Xueling said, "I heard that a few days ago Uncle-Master Tian of Dazhu Peak and Uncle-Master Su Wan came in person with Senior Brother Song Dayi to propose marriage, but Master refused them to their faces, and even had a great quarrel with Uncle-Master Tian."
Wen Pei gave a bitter laugh, the smile carrying no small measure of gall, and shook her head slowly. "Ah... well, that, that doesn't count for much. Besides, it has nothing to do with you; it's simply that he and I were never fated. And we both know Master has always disliked the people of Dazhu Peak."